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Greetings everyone! It's been quite an interesting week here. Lots of great postings and interesting conversations. As was expected I had a very busy work week after returning from a two-week vacation. My decision to retire late this spring also added to the excitement at work. You all have TJ to thank for inadvertently getting me to mention it here a bit earlier than I had planned. Thanks TJ and Recaredo.

Right now, I must get on with preparing my Sunday classical postings. My colleague in Ireland is patiently waiting for his Minneapolis partner's selections. He knows I won't let him down, however

It sure has been quiet on this thread today! I'll take this opportunity to clear up any misperceptions about whether I like Alison Kraus's music. In fact I do like some of her music. I've posted a few of her recordings on this thread.

TJ's posting of "Simple Gifts" is an example of one of the kinds of music she performs that I do like. However, I'm not keen on other things she does and she won't make it to my list of 8 songs I'd want to have if I were stuck on a desert island.

I do have fun bantering with TJ on this subject. I find it to be a sneaky way to get TJ to share some music with us when I haven't heard from him in a while. I got great results again when he posted Simple Gifts. I loved it. Thanks TJ for coming thru again with flying colors .

Now TJ, it only seems fair that I should post something else of Alison's that I truly enjoyed when she paid tribute to songwriter, James Taylor. Enjoy!

Now TJ, it only seems fair that I should post something else of Alison's that I truly enjoyed when she paid tribute to songwriter, James Taylor. Enjoy!

Ah, Grif - the Voice of an Angel strikes again!

Great Alison post - I've seen/heard this cover before and it's always a delight - one of my favorite JT songs, and she puts her own special touch to it - one of the bonus highlights of this video is the presence of one of the world's great dobro players, Jerry Douglas, accompanying her on that unique instrument and also singing, which I've never seen him do before - would love to see Alison team up with JT for a duet of this fine song!

Speaking of Jerry, he has played often over the years with the great fiddle player Mark O'Connor, who appears with Alison and Yo Yo (who seems to be playing with just about everyone these days) in this rendition of the old Stephen Foster classic - if you liked Simple Gifts I think you also may enjoy this (notice how even Yo Yo seems to be enraptured by her "instrument" )

Trap

Edited by TrapperJohn (01/13/1307:42 AM)

_________________________
Every difficulty slurred over will be a ghost to disturb your repose later on. Frederic Chopin

Rossini is one of the great writers for the voice, along with Donizetti and Bellini, and here we listen to a little something from La Cenerentola, "Nacqui all'affanno … Non piu mesta", no more sadness.

La Cenerentola is an adaptation the Cinderella story.

I have not posted Cecilia Bartoli before. Shame on me. She was huge two decades ago and it seems she and Bryn Terfel were putting out something new every week together.

Thanks for another beautiful program of Sunday classical selections, Richard. Also, thanks for the good wishes from you and those I've already heard from regarding my upcoming retirement!

Good morning everyone! It's still morning in Minneapolis, and some of us late risers (or early risers) may still be trying to get fully awakened and warmed up with a cup of coffee (Becca, my neighbor to the north, can you relate?)

TJ, thanks for that Alison posting. I loved it! That is a superb example of the kind of songs I love to hear her sing I also agree that it would be interesting to see her and James Taylor team up for some more presentations. (Aimee, it appears that me and TJ just had to narrow it down to what i like most of Alison .

This thread has been pretty busy this week. An interesting discussion about David Bowie.

Since some of us prefer to start our morning off a bit more relaxed (yours truly included), I'll start off my first selection for today with a performance by English guitarist Julian Bream performing Fugue in A Minor by J.S. Bach. I first heard this gifted guitarist when I was a college student and he performed in Minneapolis at the Guthrie Theater and the Walker Art Center. It was the very first time I had listened to classical guitar and lute music. Enjoy!

For those who didn't have a chance to view Richard's presentation last Sunday of the works of Claudio Monteverdi, I would highly recommend it. Particularly if you have an interest in exploring the transition of music from the Renaissance to Baroque.

It reminded me of the many choral selections from the Renaissance period that I was introduced to when I had the pleasure of participating in a variety of choral groups. While I did not get to sing this next selection by Giovanni Palestrina, I've truly enjoyed listening to it. Here is "Gloria"

That concludes my selections for today. However, join us later if you can for Richard's finale.

We have looked at the origins of the concerto and of opera. This week we look at the origins of the sonata, which in turn led to the symphony.

The French secular chanson of the 1500's was the precursor to the canzona and featured racy lyrics. Initially instruments were used to replace or substitute for voices. At the turn of the century most listeners and performers had the lyrics in mind when listening to canzonas or, where the composition was original, the sentiments of a canzona. It is somewhat ironic that when it was incorporated into a sonata, after gaining some respectability, it formed the weightiest part of the sonata da chiesa. There was at the time a clear disinction between the church music (sonata da chiesa) and secular music (sonata da camera, chamber music).

As instrumental music grew apart from its vocal origins it became sectionalised and the instruments featured more rhapsodic material.

Here we have a chaconne by Maurizio Cazzati, typical of the 1660's, showing how the instrumentation had developed beyond vocal capability. The chaconne, originally a dance in 3/4 time, developed like the passacaglia and ground bass from the variation form and is based on a harmonic progression.

As opera developed into bel canto singing from the heightened speech so instrumental music did the same. Here then, by way of contrast, is a chaconne by the slightly later composer, Vitali, from around the 1670's, and demonstrating the new bel canto style.

And finally from the 1680's a trio sonata by the most influential composer of the period, Arcangelo Corelli, whose concerto grosso we recently heard. This Trio Sonata in D minor incorporates the instrumentation just examined and introduces the slow-fast-slow-fast plan that was to become so dominant in the suites of the late Baroque and later the classical sonata and the symphony itself.

I would like to post an early Bowie piece for Wayne but I guess he can find The Laughing Gnome for himself.

SirRichard, please warn us if you are ever going to TEST us on your post commentaries.

Seriously, Griffin & SR , thanks for all the Sunday postings, I personally love them every week. Griffin, don't think for ONE minute that your upcoming retirement relieves you of this duty. You may, however, sleep in a bit longer.

"Gangnam Style" (Korean: 강남스타일, IPA: [kaŋnam sɯtʰail]) is a K-pop single by the South Korean musician PSY. The song was released in July 2012 as the lead single of his sixth studio album PSY 6 (Six Rules), Part 1, and debuted at number one on South Korea's Gaon Chart. On December 21, 2012, at around 15:50 UTC, "Gangnam Style" became the first online video to record a billion hits on the Internet. As of January 10, 2013, the music video has been viewed over 1.17 billion times on YouTube, and it is the site's most watched video after surpassing Justin Bieber's single "Baby".

The phrase "Gangnam Style" is a Korean neologism that refers to a lifestyle associated with the Gangnam District of Seoul. The song and its accompanying music video went viral in August 2012 and have influenced popular culture worldwide since then. "Gangnam Style" received mixed to positive reviews, with praise going to its catchy beat and PSY's amusing dance moves (which themselves have become a phenomenon) in the music video and during live performances in various locations around the world. In September 2012, "Gangnam Style" was recognized by Guinness World Records as the most "liked" video on YouTube. It subsequently won Best Video at the MTV Europe Music Awards held later that year. It became a source of parodies and reaction videos by many different individuals, groups and organizations while also inspiring dance mobs in Paris, Rome, and Milan, with tens of thousands of participants each. On the New Year's Eve of 2012, more than a million people witnessed a live "Gangnam Style" performance in Times Square, New York City, by PSY and rapper MC Hammer; as well as in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

By the end of 2012, the song had topped the music charts of more than 30 countries including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Although its reception in Japan remained lukewarm, "Gangnam Style" topped China's Baidu 500 download list and was labelled by state-controlled media as having a "divine melody."[11][12][13]

As the song continued to rapidly gain popularity and ubiquity, its signature dance moves were attempted by many notable political leaders such as the British Prime Minister David Cameron, U.S. President Barack Obama, and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who hailed it as a "force for world peace". Its influence on political activism was exemplified by the short film Gangnam for Freedom, produced by the British sculptor Anish Kapoor to advocate the freedom of expression with the support of various human rights organisations such as Index on Censorship and Amnesty International. According to the United Nations' news division, PSY has become an "international sensation" through his song "Gangnam Style".

April 23 | Sirhan Sirhan sentenced Sirhan Sirhan, convicted of murdering New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy during the 1968 presidential campaign, is sentenced to death a week after being found guilty. Three years later, his sentence is commuted to life in prison after California abolishes the death penalty.

May 18 | Apollo 10 The Apollo 10 mission is a dress rehearsal for the lunar landing module. This mission tested "all aspects of the lunar landing mission exactly as it would be performed, except for the actual landing," according to NASA. It also transmitted the first color pictures of Earth from space.

May 23 | The Who releases "Tommy" The Who, a key band of the 1960s British Invasion, releases the rock opera "Tommy." The double album features songs like "Pinball Wizard" and "Tommy, Can You Hear Me?"

May 24 | Beatles' "Get Back" is No. 1 "Get Back" by the Beatles becomes the top song on Billboard's list and stays there for five weeks. Released as a single, the song later appeared on the "Let it be" album. "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine in" by the Fifth Dimension was the second song on the list for that week.

May 25 | "Midnight Cowboy" released John Schlesinger's "Midnight Cowboy," starring Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman, is released with an X rating, the first ever in wide release. The film received seven Academy Award nominations and won three, including best picture. Other notable movies released during that year include "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," "Easy Rider" and "True Grit."

June 3 | Last episode of 'Star Trek' airs The last episode of the original "Star Trek" airs on NBC. During the episode, titled "Turnabout Intruder," one of Captain Kirk's former lovers steals his body.

June 8 | Nixon and Vietnam President Nixon, after being elected on a campaign pledge to pull troops out of Southeast Asia, announces the withdrawal of 25,000 U.S. troops from Vietnam.